Wire belts are commonly used for conveying articles during cooling, drying, coating, cooking and many other applications. In one particular application, wire belts are used to convey food articles during cooking or processing of the food. Wire belts are advantageous for food processing because they provide an open flow through mesh, a high degree of flexibility, a sanitary construction, simple installation and maintenance, and the ability to be positively driven. The wire belt typically includes a plurality of wire links interlocked or joined together to form an endless conveyor belt. Forming an endless conveyor from a wire belt typically requires a splice connection between two of the wire links in the wire belt.
Existing splice connections have presented a problem, particularly when wire belts are used in the food industry. One such splice connection is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,155 to Bechtel, Jr. According to this patent, an end connecting element or link 26 is used at the end of the splice connection. Many disadvantages have been encountered when using wire belts having this type of end connecting element or link.
The end connecting links in prior art wire belt splice connections do not provide enough support for the loads placed on the wire links at the edge of the wire belt where failure is most likely to occur. When the end connecting link does not adequately support the load at the edge of the wire belt and the wire links bend or break, the existing end connecting links can easily disconnect from the wire belt. In food processing applications, the end connecting links often fall into the food, resulting in a contaminated and hazardous food product. A further disadvantage of the existing end connecting links is that the links used on one side of the wire belt must be formed differently from the links used on the other side.
Accordingly, what is needed is a wire belt splice connector that increases the support of loads at the edge of a splice connection in a wire belt. What is also needed is a wire belt splice connector that will not easily disconnect from the wire belt even if a failure or breakage of the wire links occurs. Further, a wire belt splice connector is needed that can be mass produced to fit on either edge of the wire belt.